Looking forward by looking back: APSR’s contribution to future repository planning in Australia.

Abstract

The Australian Partnership for Sustainable Repositories (APSR) was established in 2004 with a grant from the Systemic Information Infrastructure (SII) of the Department of Employment, Science and Training (DEST). It was one of a number of projects to benefit from official recognition of the importance of digital sustainability and the need for development of institutional repositories in Australian universities and other organisations. In four years, APSR has contributed significantly to the management of digital information in Australia, through both its development portfolio and its extensive range of outreach activities. There have been benefits to the partners and to the sector as a whole. The work undertaken and the lessons learnt provide useful information for future planning in a field which continues to expand and develop.